Equipping the next generation of Lebanese girls with STEM

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Event participants take a group photo during the closing
ceremony of the event (Image via Girls Got IT)

"I used to think technology was only a time killing
tool but learned that there are a lot of benefits in it, I would
definitely participate next year," said Mariam Zaatariya.

The teenager was taking part in an event
calledGirls Got
IT. The event, which took over 400 girls from
public and private high schools across Lebanon, for a full day of
career orientation and hands on encouragement activities revolving
around STEM subjects.

At high schools in Lebanon it’s not too uncommon
to see career orientation being a mild and side subject, with many
students possibly following social expectations and planning their
careers accordingly.

The problem is even greater when it comes to
female students. In Lebanon, career options for girls are heavily
affected by culture, expectations and most commonly stereotypes. In
many social and family settings, one can easily hear things like
"engineering is not a woman's job".

This problem is not unique to Lebanon or
MENA.

Some
studiesin the US have shown that, beginning at
the age of 12, girls begin to like math and science less, expect
not to do as well in these subjects and attribute their failures to
lack of ability.

A recentVerizon ad videohighlights the powerful
statements that girls hear throughout their childhood that
discourage them from pursuing studies in STEM.

"In schools students learn too much theory and
when it comes to application,” said Sabine Kaahi ofKids Genius, an
organization aimed at helping young people discover and learn about
technology, manufacturing, and open source tools. “Teachers always
ask students to create the end product that is in the teacher's
mind, it's not the students who design or the to solve their own
challenges. Which isn't motivating enough for students to solve new
problems.”

With the global rise in demand for STEM
positions and the ever growing gap in representation and leadership
of women in that field, something definitely needs to be
done.

Throughout the day, positive and inspiring
feedback from the participants was heard.

One of the core ingredients of such a success
was establishing a solid exposure between high school girls and
inspiring female role models in STEM. Leading women in STEM such as
Desiree Chbeir, project leader at Amazon, andSylvia
Yammine, an engineer and Miss Globe 2016,took to the
stage to talk about their career experiences.

Additionally many of the workshop sessions were
led by women such as Sabine Kaahi fromKids Geniusand
Rana El Chemaitelly fromThe Little
Engineerwho contributed to breaking many cultural
stereotypes that many of the high schoolers had in mind.

The second component of this event was right on
target, focusing on hands on practical and technical applications
while introducing the different STEM disciplines in a fun and
positive environment.

Around 20 break-out sessions were available for
the students to engage in different activities and gain technical
hands-on skills in different domains.

Several Lebanese startups ran the workshops throughout the day,
topics ranged between software, hardware and product development
including, android mobile application development by EDUTEK, Introduction to
Web Development by Le Wagon,
city planning and building by Urbacraft and hands on internet of
things workshop by Scriptr.

Game development workshop by Wixel Studios. (Image via Wixel
Studios)

For Mohammad Doughan, head of operations at The Little
Engineer, practical application is a base ingredient in all
orientation workshops that they organize.

He told Wamda that before each workshop they ask
the students about their expectations for their career futures.
"Students get a real taste and feel for engineering, this helps
them evaluate their initial plans on whether they enjoy STEM or
something else. We help them discover themselves through practical
work."

A team of girls from the Little Engineer workshop after
assembling a real life model of the Airbus A380 aircraft. (Image
via Girls Got IT)

This application driven approach turned out to be very
helpful to students in exploring their university major of
choice.

Another team of students explore with carpentry and woodwork
with the Kids Genius workshop. (Image via Kids Genius)

One student, Christy Zayda, told Wamda that learning
how to code and publish her own website gave her a new perspective.
"Now I can express myself towards the world individually by
designing and building what I want, moving from being a user to
creator of technology.”

At the end of the day, 20 awards were distributed to
the best participants, followed by an open mic session where many
of the participants rushed to stage, stood up and expressed their
feedback on the event.

"This event already falls within the perspective I
have towards supporting women in STEM because it shows technology
in its reality to students,” said student Maya Moussa. “I am now
more motivated and confident of my future career in this domain. I
look forward for next year and for similar career orientation
events targeted equally at both genders in high school.”

Throughout the day, students were solving
different real life problems as they were acquiring different skill
sets in computer programming, robotics, design thinking, game
development and architecture. Every booth provided a simulation of
real world technology and science environments to dream, think and
apply creative solutions to different problems.

While the the world is continuously facing a deficit
in solid technology and science talent, Lebanon's bright STEM
future could certainly now be resting in the hands of high school
girls.